Weeping doll



Nov. 5, 1957 R. K. OSTRANDER WEEPING DOLL Filed April 4, 1955 5 m w y mm9 x n: ,1, m a a. H mm \X z 7 \y x M Z Q\ a M n -1 mm A! 00 l l l l l llw 7 L B United States Patent O i WEEPING DOLL Robert K. Ostrander,Maplewood, N. J.

Application April 4, 1955, Serial No. 499,003

8 Claims. (Cl. 46-135) This invention relates to dolls and moreespecially to dolls which weep water tears.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved Weeping doll.

One feature of the invention relates to the location of a tear reservoirin the head of the doll with a passage through which water is suppliedto the reservoir housing through the mouth of the doll and with simpleand inexpensive check valve means for preventing back flow of the waterto the mouth. The construction is simple and inexpensive and is adaptedto be assembled in the doll head with a minimum of labor.

Another feature of the invention relates to the construction of aweeping doll with a soft compressible plastic head having sockets forthe eyes and having provision whereby the tears come from the eyesockets instead of from holes located adjacent to the eyes as has beennecessary in Weeping dolls having hard heads.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear orbe pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like referencecharacters indicate corresponding parts in all the views;

Figure l is a sectional view through the head of a doll constructed inaccordance with this invention and with the doll lying on its back;

Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly broken away, showing the locationof the tear reservoir housing and the connected parts when the doll isin an upright position;

Figure 3 is a greatly enlarged, isometric view, partly broken away,showing the tear reservoir housing and the conduits and passages leadingto the mouth and eyes, the top wall of the housing being shown in raisedposition in order to expose the interior chambers;

Figure 4 is a reduced scale, sectional view taken on the line 4-4 ofFigure 3, and also showing parts of the sockets in the head of the dollin section; and

Figure 5 is a reduced scale sectional view taken on the line 5-5 ofFigure 3.

Figures 1 and 2 show a doll having a head secured to a body 11 by anyconventional means. In the pre ferred construction the head 10 is madeof soft plastic, such as vinylchloride. It can be compressed and willregain its original shape when released.

The head 14 is molded with sockets 14 for holding the eyes of the dolland the head has a mouth 15 which is open or at least constructed sothat it can be opened to insert a nipple for feeding water to the doll.An eye 18, constructed of glass or other material having a realisticappearance, is snapped into each of the sockets 14 by pushing the eye inthrough the open front of the socket. The eye 18 is large enough so thatit is firmly gripped by the socket 14. Only one eye is shown in thedrawing, but it will be understood that both of the eyes are of similarconstruction. i

There is a button 20 at the back of each socket 14. This button isshaped to fit the back of the eye 18 and serves as an abutment againstwhich the eye is pressed by the pressure of the front inside wall of thesocket 14. A tube 22 is rigidly secured to the button 20 and leads to atear reservoir housing 25. The tube 22 extends through an opening in theback of the socket 14; but the outside diameter of the tube 22 issubstantially smaller than the diameter of the button 20 so that thereis an annular surface on the back of the button which serves as a flangefor preventing the button 20 and the tube 22 from being displacedrearwardly.

The head 10 is molded with a socket 27 behind the mouth 15 and there isa button 29 in the socket 27. A conduit 32 connects the button 27 withthe tearreservoir housing 25.

The conduit 32 has a small diameter portion 34 extending from the button29 through an opening in the back of the mouth socket 27 At its otherend, the conduit 32 becomes larger and opens into a center distributingchamber 35, best shown in Figure 4. This distributing chamber 35 hasopenings 37 communicating with tear reservoirs 41 and 42. The centerdistributing chamber 35, therefore, forms a part of the conduitconnecting the mouth with the tear reservoirs 41 and 42.

In order to prevent back flow of water through the conduit 35, whichleads from the mouth 15 to the tear reservoirs 41 and 42, there is anautomatic check valve located in the conduit. This check valve includesa ball valve element 45 which rests upon an annular seat 47 at thebottom of the center distributing chamber 35 when the doll is in uprightposition and the parts are oriented as shown in Figure 4. When the dollis laid on its back, the ball valve element 45 drops down against theback wall of the center distributing chamber 35, as shown in Figure 1,and the conduit 32 is open. Although the check valve constructionillustrated is simple, inexpensive and reliable, it must be consideredas merely representative of automatic check valves in connection withthe broader aspects of this invention.

The tubes 22 (Figure 3) open into the tear reservoirs 41 and 42 andthese tubes are rigidly connected to the front walls of the reservoirs.The entire tear reservoir housing 25 is supported in the head of thedoll by the connections of the tubes 22 and the conduit 35 to thesockets of the eyes and mouth, respectively. This provides aparticularly convenient assembly because the tear reservoir housing 25and all of the connected parts are assembled before being inserted intothe head. They are then connected to the doll by expanding the openingsat the back of the eye sockets 14 and the mouth socket 27 so as topermit the buttons 2% and 29, respectively, to be pushed through theback Walls and into the sockets. After passage of the buttons into thesockets, the openings through which the buttons were forced close aroundthe tubes 22 and the small end of the conduit 32 to grip these parts andhold the entire tear reservoir housing assembly in position in the head.

Figure 3 shows the construction of the tear reservoir housing 25. Thishousing is preferably a one piece plastic molding. The centerdistributing chamber 35 is immediately adjacent to the tear reservoirs41 and 42 and separated from them only by partitions 59. Thesepartitions extend across the full width of the center distributingchamber 35 except for cut out notches at the upper, rear corners of thepartitions 50; and these cut out notches provide the openings 37 throughwhich the center distributing chamber 35 communicates with the tearreservoirs 41 and 42.

A common bottom 52 closes the lower ends of the chamber 35 and the tearreservoirs 41 and 42. It will be understood that the partitions 50extend all the way from the bottom to the top of the chamber 35 so thatthere is no communication between this chamber and the tear reservoirs41 and 42, except through the openings 37.

The upper end of the center distributing chamber 35 is closed by a cover54' which extends all the way from one partition to the other. Topplates 56 fill the remaining space betwen the cover 54 and the underside of a top wall 58 which extends across the entire tear reservoirhousing 25. This top wall 58 is lifted from the housing 25 in Figure 4in order to expose the inside of the housing, but it will be understoodthat it is permanently connected to the housing in the actualconstruction of the assembly.

The top plates 56 terminate some distance back from the front wall ofthe housing 25 so as to leave overflow passages from the tear reservoirs41 and 42. These overflow passages 62 open into a common center passagewhich is bounded on the bottom by the top surface of the cover 54, onthe top by the top wall 53 and on both sides by the confronting endfaces of the top plates 56.

There is a recess 65 in the top edge of the back wall of the centerdistributing chamber 35 for the flow of water from the passage betweenthe top plates 56 and into a water chamber 67' located immediatelybehind the center distributing chamber 35. This water chamber 67 ispreferably an integral part of the housing 25.

In the construction shown, the water chamber 67 has an outlet fitting 70(Figure 4) at its lower end, and a tube 72 leading from the fitting 70to a location in the body of the doll below the head. A ball valveelement 75 is preferably provided at the bottom of the water chamber 67and this ball valve element 75 rests on an annular seat at the end ofthe fitting 70 when the doll is in upright position. When the doll islying on its back, the ball valve element 75 is in open position and anywater in the chamber 67, above the level of the outlet through thefitting 70, flows into the doll body, as previously explained. Thisfeature whereby the tear reservoirs overflow into a water chamber whichcommunicates with the interior of the body of the doll is provided whenit is desirable to have a doll which both wets and weeps.

When the doll is in upright position with water in the tear reservoirs41 and 42, and the body or head of the doll is squeezed so as tocompress the air within the doll, the increased pressure causes air toflow upwardly through the tube 72 and past the check valve 75 into thehousing 25. This increase in air pressure in the housing 25 forces waterfrom the tear reservoirs 41 and 42 through the tubes 22 and buttons 20.There are preferably channels 78 (Figure 3) in the front faces of thebuttons 2t) so that the eyes cannot block the flow of water from thetear r reservoirs 41 and 42. In order to further reduce the amount ofpressure required to cause tears to flow from the eyes of the doll,there are other channels '79 (Figure 4) in the walls of the eye sockets14 so that water from behind the eyes can flow across the socket wallsand discharge from the eye sockets across the eyelids provided by thefront openings in the sockets 14.

One function of the tube 72, therefore, is to admit air into the housing25 when there is an increase in the air pressure within the doll. Suchmeans are required when the housing 25 is made of rigid or stiffmaterial, as it is in the preferred construction. If the housing 25 ismade with one or more flexible walls on the reservoirs 41 and 42, thenincreased air pressure within the doll can be transmitted to the waterin the reservoirs 41 and 42 through pressure against the flexible sidewalls of the reservoir. Such a construction, however, does not permitthe draining of as much of the water from the reservoirs as when the airunder pressure is admitbd into the tear reservoirs as in the illustratedembodiment.

The preferred construction of this invention has been illustrated anddescribed, but changes and modifications can be made, and some featurescan be used in different combinations without departing from theinvention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A doll comprising a head made of soft plastic material and having aface with eye sockets therein of integral construction with the face,each of the eye sockets having a front opening for exposing to view aneye within the socket, and each of the openings having an edge whichsimulates a lower eye lid of the eye, each socket inward from saidopening increasing in cross section to provide a cavity of the generalshape of an eye, eyes located in the sockets and in predeterminedassembled relation to the doll head, each of the eyes being anindividual unit independent of the other eye and the doll head, and eachof the eyes being of a size that can be snapped into the eye socketthrough said front opening and of a size that is gripped by inside surfaes of the socket with a resilient pressure of the soft plastic material,a tear reservoir within the doll, conduits between the tear reservoirand locations in the eye sockets where there is clearance between theeyes and inside surfaces of said sockets, said locations being back fromthe openings that expose the eyes, and a passage leading from each ofsaid locations to another more forward location near part of the lowereye lid edge of the socket of each eye but within the socket, each eyehaving a bottom surface confronting and in contact with a bottom surfaceof the socket, the passage leading from the tear reservoir conduit tothe forward location in each eye socket being a clearance formed by achannel in one of the confronting bottom surfaces, the eye lid edge ofthe socket being closely adjacent to the eye in such relation to theforward end of the channel that water from said forward location flowsbetween the eye and said eye lid edge of the socket to simulate tearsWelling up within the eyes.

2. The doll described in claim 1 and in which the doll has a mouth, aconduit leading from the mouth to the tear reservoir, and means throughwhich air pressure is exerted on water in the tear reservoir when thedoll is compressed.

3. The doll described in claim 1 and in which the doll has a mouth and aconduit leading from the mouth to the tear reservoir, an automatic valvein the conduit, the valve being oriented to open when the doll is lyingon its back and to close when the doll is in an upright position.

4. The doll described in claim 1 and in which there is a second tearreservoir and each of the reservoirs has a conduit through which itcommunicates with the passage in the socket of a different eye from theother reservoir, a center distributing chamber between the tearreservoirs, passages connecting the distributing chamber with therespective tear reservoirs, said passages being at locations near thetop and back of the center reservoir when the doll is in uprightposition, a month in communication with the center distributing chamber,an automatic check valve located in the conduit in position to open whenthe doll is lying on its back and to close by gravity when the doll isin upright position, and an overflow conduit communicating with the tearreservoirs and leading to the interior of the doll below the reservoirs.

5. A doll having a body which is deformable by pressure to increase theair pressure within the body, the

doll having a head with eyes and a mouth, a tear reservoir housingwithin the head of the doll above the level of the mouth and at leastpartly as high as the level of the eyes when the doll is in an uprightposition, passages leading from the tear reservoir housing to the faceof the doll adjacent to the eyes, a conduit connecting the mouthdirectly to the tear reservoir housing in the head,

a check valve associated with said conduit and in position to preventreturn flow of the water from the tear reservoir housing to the mouth, apassage opening from the interior of the body of the doll into the tearreservoir for admitting air into the tear reservoir when the bodycontact with a bottom surface of the socket, and there is a channelformed in one of the confronting bottom surfaces in each of the sockets,the channel extending to the front of each socket from a rearward regionof the socket, and in which the tear reservoir housing has conduitscommunicating with the rearward portions of the channels in the sockets.

6. A doll comprising a head having eyes and a mouth, a separate tearreservoir for each eye, the tear reservoirs being located in the head, acenter distributing chamber located between the tear reservoirs, conduitstructure connecting the mouth with the center distributing chamher, acheck valve in the center distributing chamber for preventing back fiowof water from the chamber to the month, said check valve having a valveelement in position to drop open by gravity when the doll is laid on itsback, the center distributing chamber having passages which are locatedat the back and top of the chamber when the doll is upright and whichcommunicate with the tear reservoirs, and the tear reservoirs havingoverflow passages from which water flows to the interior of the dollbelow the reservoirs, said overflow passages being located at the topand front of the tear reservoirs when the doll is upright, and passagesleading from the respective tear reservoirs to the eyes of the doll.

7. The doll described in claim 6 and in which there is a water chamberinto which the overflow from the tear reservoirs is discharged and thiswater chamber is located close to the center chamber and the tearreservoirs and has a passage leading downwardly into the body of thedoll. v

8. The doll described in claim 6 and in which the center distributingchamber, the tear reservoirs and the water chamber are all sections of aone-piece housing with partitions separating the tear reservoirs fromthe center distributing chamber and with a partition separating thecenter distributing chamber from said water chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,981,333 Schavoir Nov. 20, 1934 2,012,060 Wittman' Aug. 20, 19352,148,888 Wittman Feb. 28, 1939 2,157,763 Konikofi et a1. May 9, 19392,196,912 Gilbrait-h Apr. 9, 1940 2,748,530 Stecker June 5, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS 223,397 Germany Aug. 1, 1909 785,020 France July 31, 19351,084,950 France Ian. 25, 1955

